Pug seeks help from police

Lulu is a purebred, nine-year-old pug that found her way to the detachment last week after getting separated from her owner.

Sandra, a municipal employee who doesn’t want her last name used, was about to get into her car in the RCMP parking lot on Oliver Street when she noticed the small dog walk up the driveway.

She waited for the dog’s owner to come around the corner, but that never happened.

Sandra watched Lulu weave in between cars, walk up to the grassed area, take a pee, and trundle back down. Sandra couldn’t get close enough to see if there was a collar and tag until she finally opened her car door and asked the dog if she wanted to go for a car ride.

Without hesitation, the tag-less Lulu jumped in.

Sandra canvassed nearby businesses, but to no avail.

The wayward pup crossed Sandra’s path late Thursday (Aug. 9) afternoon, and she couldn’t get home due to the multi vehicle crash on the Mission-Abbotsford Bridge. She called a co-worker, Ania Kyte, who invited Sandra and her new friend over, where they did some investigative work.

Lulu’s ear tattoo was their only clue. The pair searched the Internet and found Lulu came from Salmon Arm. They dialed the number to the clinic, but they had closed.

Kyte offered to keep the little pug overnight, and it didn’t take long for Lulu to make herself at home. She found a cozy spot on top of the couch where she watched the fish and gave the hamster a hard time.

The little pug picked a blanket and slept soundly through the night.

In the morning Sandra called Mission Animal Control and indeed, someone had reported the dog missing.

Lulu lives in Steelhead and was reunited with her owner, Raylene Stockbruegger, a couple of days later. Stockbruegger’s dad watched Lulu until Raylene returned from Pender Island, where she had taken a short vacation.

The first day was anything but relaxing for the young woman.

Stockbruegger was on her way to the ferry terminal Thursday afternoon when she was stopped just before the Mission Bridge due to the accident around 5 p.m. Lulu was on the front seat and the windows were rolled down. Stockbruegger waited 10 minutes before she decided to back up and take the exit to London Avenue to go through Maple Ridge. She assumed her precious pup had jumped in the back to take a snooze and it wasn’t until Raylene was about to cross the Golden Ears Bridge when she discovered Lulu was gone.

When she realized Lulu wasn’t there, she started to panic. Stockbruegger called her dad and contemplated staying behind until her dog was found, but her dad convinced her otherwise. She figured Lulu jumped out the open window when the vehicle was stopped by the Mission Bridge.

Stockbruegger and Lulu have been together since Lulu was five weeks old.

The pair met in Manitoba and lived in Salmon Arm for six years before moving to Mission a few years ago. Lulu loves car rides and has never done this before.

“She’s a sucky dog,” said Stockbruegger, who described her pup as a happy, well-mannered canine who loves to play.

Stockbruegger suspects Lulu was either overwhelmed by traffic, or saw another dog and wanted to visit. Whatever the reason, Stockbruegger is just glad she’s safe, and will keep a closer eye on her wandering pup.